Giving girls boys names?

[purplebridgett]

What do you think?

Are boys names on girls a complete no-no? Or are they ok as long as they are spelt differently e.g. Teri, Toni, Ashleigh, Jaime? Or can you just go for it e.g. like Sean Young (the actress in Bladerunner) or Ashley Judd? (Or do you have to be an American to get away with it?!)

I kind of like James, Finley, Tristan and Toby for a girl.

I don't really understand why you'd do that, it imposes a huge presumption on your daughter's character, taste and willingess to spend the rest of her life explaining herself to random strangers.

There are so many girls names with tomboyish nick-names - but those are optional and can be grown in and out of. There are also loads of girls names that aren't at all flowery and sound strong e.g. Ines, Anouk, Diana (goddess of war) - lots of ancient Greek ones, lots of biblical and common British ones. Surely you come to associate a name with the person's character?

I don't get James for a girl at all, I'd think it was a mistake. Don't like Jaime either though, as I'd naturally pronounce it as written, one syllable.

Suggest listening to 'A Boy Named Sue' and contemplating unforseen consequences!

" I want any daughters I may have to feel they can do anything, achieve anything, and are as good as any man."

So you start off by saying that boy's names are superior to girls's names? I think that sends a completely different message "if you want to achieve anything, do anything or be as good as any man, you have to be more masculine"

Would you call a boy Mary? If not, why not?

I can understand some boys names being used for girls. My friend Jamie(male) has just married Jamie(female), it was a bit confusing at first!

But seriously James for a girl? No way, it's just weird. Sorry.

I love James for a girl.

I repeat. Would you call a boy Mary?

I think having separate names for boys and girls is sexist

That is my quote of the week. :o

I have a unisex name .I hate it always have it's not cool or trendy to have people asking what its short For or expecting a man when just looking at the name. Don't do it !

I don't like girls' names being used for boys, or vice versa. There are many beautiful, strong traditionally female names, so the choice isn't really between a sugary cutsie pie name or using a male name. IMO a better option would be to use a female name, but allow the daughter herself to choose a boyish nn e.g.. an Eleanor being known as Len rather than Ellie.

To be honest if I met a girl called James or Toby I would think her parents were so desperate for a son, they had not been bothered to choose a name for a daughter.

well my dd is merryn and have recently discovered two boys called the same but they spell it differently merin i think? we just chose a name we liked it didnt occur to us it may be a boys name as well, its quite an unusual name anyway. the 2 boys with the name are much older than my dd who is 11mths, they are 9yrs ish i think.

certainly hasnt caused any problems so far :)

My girl cousins are Toby, Jaime and Billie. I think they are just about ok and also they live abroad where I've herd some really funky names over there so these are considered normal! I prefer sticking to girls names for girls and vice versa. There are thousands of names to choose and besides ppl will always critizise whatever you choose.

I chose female names for my dd's and a male name for my ds. Mainly because we loved the names!

However, if I really think about it, I guess it shouldn't really matter what name someone has - because you don't need to pre-judge someone in terms of gender, colour, hair colour or any other factors before meeting them, do you really?

Meet my children, Wireless, Carpet and Vladivostok.

I like Andie and Robyn for a girl. But that's it. I personally think they need different spelling than the boys name.

I know a Charlene, who outside of work is called Charly by everyone. She spells Charly differently to the boys spelling.

OP... do you think dressing girls in pink or dresses is sexist? Or letting them grow long hair is sexist? The view that femininity and power are mutually exclusive is so dated!

I don't know about the history of tradition of names but i do believe in naming girls, girl names, and boys boy names. Life is hard enough without saddling your child with extra pressure.

You can still bring your DD up to be strong, feisty, independent and strong without naming her Dave.

Interesting question. Whilst I do like feminine names for girls (and masculine for boys), I can see the logic of a name not necessarily having to indicate a person's gender.

I think the question is: is there a benefit to having a name that clearly identifies you as male or female or might there be benefits to having a name that does not automatically categorise you as male or female?

p.s. when we were naming DS the babyname book i had had a really interesting section on psychology.... you might want to have a google and see what you can find.... I can't remember the detail but there were themes on mixed gender names eg. Men called lesley were seen as less attractive than men with one syllable names (eg tom, paul, dave).

Girls with 3 syllable names were seen as more attractive eg. Isabel, Elenor etc.

Boys called Wayne were seen as highly unintelligent...

Just a thought for you - remember, it's your child who'll have the name for life!!!

My thought is that I want to choose a long name, then as they grow up they can choose to be (for example, this name is ruled out due to family reasons) a girly or formal Charlotte, a "cool" Chaz or a boyish Charlie.

Likewise you can call Andrea Andy without her having to look boyish when she's 16 and as girly as anything.

hi mrs - i know this wasn't the point of the thread but i was given one of those names and it's annoyed me all my life as (to use your example) Charlie is my name, i've always been called it by everyone and that is who i think i am. However Charlotte is on my birth certificate, (because my parents didn't think charlie was a proper name). i have to always use charlotte in formal situations but it doesn't feel like me. It is a constant irritant.

The 2 things which really upset me have been that my degree certificate is made out to Charlotte, and I had to be married as Charlotte. I know it's on my birth certificate but I don't feel that is who i am. I am Charlie.

A separate issue i know but one you might want to think of.... It's nice to be called the name you'll be called IYSWIM!!

My experience is exactly the opposite - I was given a shortened version of a more conventional long name, and I have always disliked it. Furthermore, my name is a man's name in certain other countries and it's always embarrassed me because in that context it seems a bit butch.

aah, sorry percy (is that your name??)

I can see what you mean, my 'shortened' version is only a girls name too so i didn't face that issue!

As a guy with a "girl's" name I don't have a problem with it, and wish people would not be so uptight about what gender each name is associated with.

In the US Finley is becoming more popular for girls. I think James can work because it is somewhat like Jamie, Jaime etc. Not sure about Toby though.

I blame the US for the 'trend' of turning all our lovely girls names into boys names and vice versa!!

My ds has a unisex name which has caused the occasional raised eyebrow depending on your persuasion

The 'surname as first name' type thing e.g. Madison, is easier to get away with for girls but I personally wouldn't call a girl James. Remember newborns are very ambiguous looking anyway!!

Ha ha I wish Snow but not it's not. It could be who she's named after though- its an ex-colleagues daughter of about 5yo.